Ben Rothwell has been notified by the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) that he has potentially failed a drug test for an out of competition sample collected on February 6.
The heavyweight contender is set to face former UFC Heavyweight Champion Fabricio Werdum at UFC 211 this May. The status of the fight has yet to be announced by the UFC.
Rothwell was suspended once before by the UFC in 2013 for elevated levels of testosterone collected after UFC 164, but this was before the days of USADA.
The UFC issued the following statement:
“The UFC organization was formally notified today that the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) has informed Ben Rothwell of a potential Anti-Doping Policy violation stemming from an out-of-competition sample collection on February 6, 2017. USADA, the independent administrator of the UFC Anti-Doping Policy, will handle the results management and appropriate adjudication of this case. It is important to note that, under the UFC Anti-Doping Policy, there is a full fair legal review process that is afforded to all athletes before any sanctions are imposed. Consistent with all previous potential anti-doping violations, additional information or UFC statements will be provided at the appropriate time as the process moves forward.”
It has been nearly a year since the last time Rothwell stepped into the octagon, which was a loss to former UFC Heavyweight Champion Junior Dos Santos at UFC Fight Night 86.
